One of the thieves involved the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian’s luxury Paris penthouse has shared his story of the terrifying $6mn raid as he and his alleged accomplices prepare for trial.
Yunice Abbas, key lieutenant in the veteran underground outfit dubbed ‘Grandpa Robbers’, told French outlet TF1 that he did not know who he was robbing when he was approached with plans to join 11 others in a jewel heist.
Struggling ‘to make ends meet’, the now 72-year-old hoped to ‘improve’ his situation ‘by pulling off a big heist that would be his last’.
Abbas said that he believed it was still ‘doable’ as they approached the Hotel de Pourtales residence in the early hours of October 3, 2016. They made their way to the hotel on push bikes before changing into their outfits.
Two gained entry to the apartment building dressed as police officers while Yunice said he stayed downstairs ‘to cover any potential arrivals of customers’, he said. Others returned later with a haul including a box containing millions of dollars worth of jewellery.
Revealing behind-the-scenes details of the heist, Abbas said he came face-to-face with a police car as they prepared to leave. He stayed calm as they waved him on, not yet aware of what had just happened.
He just ‘kept pedaling’ until the unclosed bag of loot slipped and became caught in the front wheel.
Jewels scattered everywhere, Abbas said, and he scrambled to collect what he could from the ground. He pushed the bike the rest of the way home, where he turned on the news to see emerging details of the robbery – denying involvement to his wife.
In the end, he revealed, he earned just 70,000 euros (£60,000 today) from the job – much less than he had been promised. He knows there is a ‘good chance’ he will end up in prison, but is ‘trying not to think about it’.
Kim Kardashian West and chauffeur Michael Madar (R) arrive at ‘L’Avenue’ restaurant on October 2, 2016 in Paris, France
Yunice Abbas poses with his book in Paris, France on February 8, 2021
Inside the Kim Kardashian Paris heist crime scene
Abbas is today among 12 defendants who will face trial from April 28 at the Paris Assize Court for their alleged involvement in the heist.
He has been unusually candid in his account, going so far as to write a book about the experience entitled ‘I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian’.
‘We’re all robbers. We all have a record,’ he told TF1 in an interview published on Sunday.
The leader of the group, Aomar Aït Khedache, likewise admits freely that he was the leader of the gang – and has been affectionately dubbed ‘Old Omar’ in French media.
The outlet refers to some of the veteran ‘Grandpa Robbers’ as ‘The Old Man’, ‘The Fat Man’, ‘Blue Eyes’ and ‘Grated Nose’ – monikers ‘testifying to their seniority in the criminal underworld’.
Abbas said he was a ‘young retiree’ at the time of the robbery. He was ‘[struggling] to make ends meet’ when presented with a ‘proposal’ that ‘allows me to look to the future in a better light’.
A 20-carat diamond ‘without protection’ was the objective, he said, but it was expected they would find more valuables throughout the heist.
Plans began to be drawn up in the summer of 2016, when Old Omar got a tip that a ‘big American star was coming to town’ and that she was showing off her fabulous wealth on Instagram
Pictures of gaffer tape used to gag Kim and Serflex cable ties used to bind her
The thieves said they arrived and left on push bikes
‘None of them had much idea who Kim was, but they liked her very expensive bling,’ a police investigator said.
All were particularly interested in Ms Kardashian’s 18.88-carat engagement ring, especially after she proudly announced that she ‘did not wear fake jewellery’.
Plans began to be drawn up in the summer of 2016, when Old Omar got a tip that a ‘big American star was coming to town’ and that she was showing off her fabulous wealth on Instagram.
The robbers are alleged to have made off with a lavish jewellery collection, including a $4mn engagement ring from Kanye West.
As they fled, one accidently dropped a platinum cross adorned with diamonds that was found the next morning.
‘We had nothing against [Kardashian] personally, Abbas said. ‘As De Niro would say, it’s business.’
Abbas does have some regret that ‘we scared her’.
Kardashian, who was wearing just a bathrobe when the thieves broke in, was bound, gagged and locked in a bathroom when thieves broke into her 15,000 euro a night residence.
A spokesperson for the reality TV star said at the time she had been left ‘badly shaken but physically unharmed’.
Abbas revealed he dropped a bag on the return journey, spilling jewels into the street
Police officers are seen entering the BRB building, Brigade de Repression du Banditisme (suppression of banditry brigade) on January 9, 2017 in Paris
The thieves are believed to have gained entry to the discreet luxury apartment after confronting the property’s only concierge, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, a father-of-one and Paris University PhD student then aged 39.
Pointing an antique Mauser 7.65mm at his head, the gang led Mr Ouatiki upstairs to the penthouse, where Kardashian was lying on her bed in her bathrobe.
The mother-of-two was alone after her German bodyguard, Pascal Duvier – whom she later sacked – went out dancing at L’Arc, a nightclub by the Arc de Triomphe.
Kardashian recalled hearing noises outside the door, later telling officers: ‘I said ‘Hello!’, but since no one answered, I knew something was wrong.’
Two ‘aggressive men’ in black police uniforms then burst in with the handcuffed Ouatiki.
Kardashian initially tried to call 911 – the American police emergency number – on her phone, but it did not work in France.
‘He puts a gun directly to her head,’ Mr Ouatiki recalled.
‘She’s crying, she’s screaming. She’s saying, “Don’t kill me, I have babies, please, I have babies! I’m a mom! Take what you want!” She’s wearing just a robe and her hair is tied back.’
Kim Kardashian and her bodyguard Pascal Duvier seen out and about in Paris before the robbery on October 2, 2016
A french police car is seen outside Kim Kardashian’s Luxury Apartment after being robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week
A general view of Kim Kardashian’s luxury apartment Hotel de Pourtales on Rue Tronchet in the 8th arrondissement, where she was robbed at gunpoint by masked men
To prevent Kardashian from screaming too loudly, the robbers taped her mouth shut before locking her in her bathroom.
They spent a full 49 minutes in the penthouse, before leaving with a haul of jewellery.
Kardashian was in Paris for the city’s fashion week with her mother Kris Jenner and her sister Kendall Jenner.
Her then-husband Kanye West was performing in New York at the time, before abruptly halting his show due to a ‘family emergency’.
